Performance and Economic Analysis of Mulberry Paper Handmade Dryer by Using Downdraft Gasifier

The mulberry paper handmade dryer uses downdraft gasifier, which is a continuous hot air dryer. The downdraft gasifier uses charcoal or wood chip as fuel to produce the producer gas for a dryer heat source. Two steps operation of a dryer as follows： The frst was to reduce mulberry paper pulp moisture by an air vacuum pump; the second was a continuous hot air drying process. The optimum condition drying, the capacity of dryer, the fuel consumption, the drying constant （k） and economics analysis were investigated. It was found that the first step could be to reduce mulberry paper pulp moisture content about 25% and the suitable condition drying was 80 ~C drying temperature, 0.04 kg/s air mass flow rate and 0.29 m/min chain conveyor speed, respectively. The capacity of this dryer was 20 sheets per hour. The quality of mulberry paper product was very good （based on the standard of mulberry paper community 41/2546） and the fuel consumption rate was 5 kg/h （charcoal）. The drying constant was about 0.532933-0.541367 min~ and the drying constant was a function of drying temperature （T）, air mass flow rate （F） and conveyor speed （10 as equation of k（T, F, V） = 0.567494 ＋ 0.000422T- 1.40588F- 0.000205 V （R2 = 0.9254） and the breakeven point of dryer was 0.79 years.

Transcriptome Profiling of the Salt-Stress Response in Paper Mulberry

Paper mulberry is a high-quality woody feed resource plant with high crude protein content.It is widely distributed in China and has excellent characteristics of salt and alkali tolerance.Paper mulberry has ecological and economic importance.Salt stress has become a critical factor with the increasing degree of soil salinity that restricts plant growth.In the saline-alkali environments,transcriptome expression is altered leading to phenotypic defects in most plants.However,the regulatory mechanism related to paper mulberry’s salt-stress(SS)response is not clearly understood.In the present study de novo transcriptomic assembly was performed,and gene expression levels were measured between different SS and natural conditions(25℃)as a control for paper mulberry plants.According to the results of our study,under NaCl stress conditions,the differential gene expression was observed in the leaves of paper mulberry compared with the control.A total of 2126 differentially expressed unigenes were observed.Among these unigenes the expression of 812 DEGs was up-regulated and the expression of 1,314 DEGs was down-regulated.Additionally,The GO and KEGG analyses regarding differentially expressed unigenes(DEUs)revealed that the observed critical transcriptomic alterations under salt stress(SS)conditions were associated with primary and secondary metabolism,photosynthesis,and plant hormone signaling pathways.Further investigations such as gene function studies regarding the unigenes depicting altered expression under salt stress conditions in paper mulberry will help understand the mechanism of salt tolerance,and this information can be utilized in paper mulberry breeding and improvement programs.

Ferulic Acid in Paper Mulberry and Its Wastewater from Pulps Production

Wastewater from paper mulberry （Broussonetia papyrifera） pulps production was subjected to biological activities evaluations and phenolics characterization. The EtOAc extract was found to be the best antioxidant （IC50 = 0.4408 mg/mL） and tyrosinase inhibitor （IC50 = 1.6340 mg/mL） comparing to vitamin C （1C50 = 0.0011 mg/mL） and kojic acid （IC50 = 0.0244 mg/mL）, respectively, and the highest ferulic acid content （4.450 ±0.0077 ppm）. This fraction was further column chromatographed and antioxidant activity was archived （IC50 = 0.075 mg/mL） as well as tyrosinase inhibitory effect （IC50 = 0.042 mg/mL） in addition to ferulic acid （45.310 ± 0.0115 ppm）. Ferulic acid in paper mulberry was compared. Reflux with H2O gave the highest ferulic acid content （37.848 ± 1.2470 ppm） followed by a mixture of MeOH and H2O （2.002 ± 0.0370 ppm） and MeOH （1.185 ± 0.0320 ppm）, respectively. The reflux H2O was partitioned with EtOAc that extracted most of ferulic acid （256.678 ± 0.3760 ppm） and left less in the aqueous layer （9.408 ± 0.2820 ppm）.

Potential of Thai Bast Fibers for Injection Molded PLA Composites

Thailand has a huge variability of bast fiber plants,some of which have been little researched regarding their applicability in composites.Bast fiber(bundle)s from different species were investigated and incorporated into a polylactide(PLA)matrix by injection molding.Hemp and kenaf were used as well-studied fibers,while roselle,Fryxell and paper mulberry are less extensively characterized.Tensile strength,tensile modulus and interfacial shear strength(IFSS)of single fiber(bundle)s were highest for hemp,followed by kenaf,roselle,Fryxell and paper mulberry.Despite the lower tensile strength and IFSS of paper mulberry,the highest tensile strength was achieved for the paper mulberry/PLA composite followed by hemp/PLA.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)analyses showed that the single cells in paper mulberry fiber bundles,in contrast to the other fiber types investigated,were only partially bonded to each other,which explains the lower strength of the fiber bundles.The higher aspect ratio of fiber(bundle)s of paper mulberry in the PLA composite can explain the good composite characteristics.Apart from hemp,paper mulberry shows the best reinforcing effect in the PLA matrix and offers interesting potential for composite applications.Compared to neat PLA,the tensile strength could be increased by 24%and the tensile modulus by 54%.

Ectopic Expression of FaDREB2 Enhances Osmotic Tolerance in Paper Mulberry

Dehydration-responsive element binding （DREB） proteins are a subfamily of AP2/ERF transcription factors that have been shown to improve tolerance to osmotic stresses in plants. To improve the osmotic stress tolerance of paper mulberry （Broussonetia papyrifera L. Vent）, an economically important tree, we transformed it with a plasmid carrying tall fescue （Festuca arundinacea Schreb） FaDREB2 under the control of CaMV 35S. The ectopic expression of FaDREB2 did not cause growth retardation, and the paper mulberry seedlings expressing FaDREB2 showed higher salt and drought tolerance than wild-type plants （WT）. After 13 d of withholding water, or 15 d in the presence of 250 mM NaCI, all the WT plants died, while the plants expressing FaDREB2 survived. The FaDREB2 transgenic plants had higher leaf water and chlorophyll contents, accumulated more proline and soluble sugars, and had less membrane damage than the WT plants under high salt and water-deficient conditions. Taken together, the results indicate the feasibility of improving tolerance to multiple environmental stresses in paper mulberry seedlings via genetic engineering, by introducing FaDREB2, which promotes the increased accumulation of osmolytes （soluble sugars and proline）, to counter osmotic stresses caused by abiotic factors.

Broussonetia papyrifera controls nutrient return to soil to facilitate its invasion in a tropical forest of Ghana

Aims Non-native invasive plants can alter soil chemistry through litter production and decomposition to facilitate their invasion.However,the important roles of these underlying processes in plant invasion remain poorly understood,particularly in tropical forest ecosys-tems.Here,we compared litter production,quality and decompos-ition of two invasive species(Broussonetia papyrifera and Cedrela odorata)and two co-occurring native species(Celtis mildbraedii and Funtumia elastica),and soil properties under them to elucidate their roles in the invasion of a tropical forest in Ghana.Methods Leaf litter production rates were determined using 36 mesh traps installed in the study area,while litter quality and soil physico-chemical properties were determined using standard protocols.A 6-month decomposition experiment using the litterbag technique was conducted to compare the decomposition rates of the species.Important Findings Litter production varied among the species and over time,with B.papyrifera producing 0.35-4.27 tons ha−1 y−1 from October to January;the other species produced 0.03^(-1).74 tons ha−1 y−1 over the same period.In the litterbag experiment,B.papyrifera recorded the lowest mass remaining(11-36%),followed by C.odorata(17-51%),F.elastica(31-55%)and C.mildbraedii(48-62%)in that order.Broussonetia papyrifera had the highest nitrogen(3.91%)and phosphorus(0.24%)but lowest lignin(12.20%)concentrations and the lowest C:N(10.87)ratio,indicating higher litter quality com-pared to the other species.Soil under B.paprifera was richest in phosphorus and nitrogen compared to the other species.Overall,our results indicate that the production of more nutrient-rich and rapidly decomposing leaf litter by B.papyrifera may constitute an important positive feedback mechanism driving its invasion and impacts in this tropical forest.